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Survey says biometrics in banking on verge of become mainstream

According to a recent Mobey Forum survey, the use of biometrics in banking and payment systems is on the verge of becoming mainstream.

The survey notes that major technological advances and economies of scale have enabled biometrics to gain strong momentum as a secure authentication factor to verify a customer’s identity in the areas of mobile banking and payment. The report argues that over the last two decades, the technology has steadily proven its credibility in this market, attracting the strong interest of a number of global business players.

The report states: “The vast majority of banks intend to implement biometrics in the relatively near future, just as the number of handset manufacturers planning to integrate biometric capabilities into their devices rises.”

The report also notes that current market forecasts are extremely optimistic, projecting that by 2017, there will be over one billion users accessing banking services through biometric systems.

The report also found that historic concerns about biometrics, with regards to accuracy and price, are no longer so pressing. Other concerns, like security, however, still are. The report notes that for biometrics to succeed, it must be used in combination with secure technologies for storage and processing.

The survey results have now been published by Mobey Forum as a free white paper which explores the suitability of biometrics as a method of identification, authentication and authorization. Its conclusions clearly demonstrate the existing business potential in mobile banking and payment. The reports that when the technology is “combined with mobile, biometrics offers considerable benefits, especially with regard to user experience.”

According to the report, biometrics brings added value to other financial services, such as know-your-customer (KYC), e-contracting, insurance and more. The survey results also confirms growing positive reception of the technologies by consumers. In addition to offering the convenience customers want for mobile security features, the “coolness factor” of biometrics usage on smartphones is enabling the technology gain large user acceptance even across a range of different age groups.

Mobey Forum undertook its survey with 235 respondents from Europe, North America and the Middle East. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents worked for banks and other financial institutions, while 32 percent were from solution providers.

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About Rawlson King

Rawlson O’Neil King is a contributing editor at BiometricUpdate.com and is an experienced communications professional, management consultant, trade journalist and author who recently published a book about control and electronic networks and who has written numerous articles in trade publications and academic journals about smart home and building technologies. Follow him @rawlsonking2.